Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia menarik napas pelan-pelan supaya tidak terlalu stres. - He/She takes a breath slowly so that he/she is not too stressed.

Dia is a third-person singular pronoun that can mean he or she. Indonesian personal pronouns do not mark gender, so dia is gender‑neutral. Context (or earlier sentences) tells you whether it refers to a man or a woman. You may also see ia, which is a bit more formal/literary but has the same meaning.

In supaya tidak terlalu stres, why is there no word like “is”?

In Indonesian, adjectives can function directly as predicates without a verb “to be”.
So:

Dia stres. → He/She is stressed.
Tidak terlalu stres. → (He/She is) not too stressed.

You only add a verb like adalah in specific cases (mainly linking to nouns, especially in formal writing), not before adjectives like stres.

What is the literal meaning of menarik napas, and how is it different from bernapas?

Literally, menarik napas is “to pull breath”, which corresponds to “take a breath / inhale”. It usually refers to a specific, noticeable act of breathing in.

Bernapas (sometimes spelled bernafas) means “to breathe” in general, the ongoing process of breathing. For example:

Dia menarik napas dalam-dalam. → He/She took a deep breath.
Dia bernapas dengan cepat. → He/She is breathing quickly.

You can also hear mengambil napas with a very similar meaning to menarik napas.

I’ve also seen nafas instead of napas. Which one is correct?

The officially standard spelling (according to KBBI, the main dictionary) is napas.
However, nafas is very common in informal writing and older materials, and everyone will understand it.

For formal or careful writing (exams, essays, official documents), it’s better to use napas.

Why is pelan repeated as pelan-pelan? What does the repetition do?

Repeating a word like pelan → pelan-pelan is called reduplication. Here, it turns the adjective pelan (slow) into an adverbial expression meaning “slowly / gently / little by little” and often adds a softer, more gradual nuance.

Compare:

pelan → slow
pelan-pelan → slowly, very gently, taking your time

In everyday speech, pelan-pelan is more natural than just pelan when you describe how someone does something.

Do I have to write the hyphen in pelan-pelan?

In standard Indonesian spelling, reduplicated words like pelan-pelan should be written with a hyphen. It signals that it is the same word repeated.

In casual texting or social media, you may see pelan pelan or pelanpelan, but for correct spelling in school, tests, and formal writing, you should use pelan-pelan.

Is pelan-pelan formal enough, or should I use perlahan-lahan?

Pelan-pelan is neutral and very common in everyday speech and informal writing.
Perlahan-lahan (or dengan perlahan) sounds a bit more formal or bookish, but both are correct.

In a sentence like this, both are fine:

Dia menarik napas pelan-pelan…
Dia menarik napas perlahan-lahan…

For casual conversation, pelan-pelan is usually preferred; for formal writing you might choose perlahan-lahan, but pelan-pelan is not wrong.

What does supaya do in this sentence? Is it the same as agar, biar, or untuk?

Supaya is a conjunction meaning “so that / in order that”. It introduces a purpose or desired result:

Dia menarik napas pelan-pelan supaya tidak terlalu stres.
→ He/She takes a slow breath so that he/she won’t be too stressed.

Similar words:

agar – basically the same meaning as supaya, but a bit more formal.
biar – same meaning but more colloquial/informal.
untuk – usually “for / to” and is followed by a verb or noun, not a full clause with a subject, e.g. untuk menenangkan diri (to calm oneself), not untuk dia tidak stres (which sounds awkward).

So you could say:
Dia menarik napas pelan-pelan agar tidak terlalu stres. (more formal)
Dia menarik napas pelan-pelan biar tidak terlalu stres. (more informal)

Why is the negation tidak and not bukan in tidak terlalu stres?

Indonesian has two main negators:

tidak – negates verbs and adjectives
bukan – negates nouns, pronouns, or does contrasting like “not X but Y”

Here, stres functions like an adjective (stressed), so you use tidak:

Dia tidak terlalu stres. → He/She is not too stressed.

If you were denying a noun, you would use bukan, e.g.:

Dia bukan dokter. → He/She is not a doctor.

What nuance does terlalu add to stres? Could I just say supaya tidak stres?

Terlalu means “too / overly / excessively”. It suggests that the level goes beyond what is desirable.

supaya tidak stres → so (he/she) won’t be stressed
supaya tidak terlalu stres → so (he/she) won’t be too stressed / overly stressed

The version with terlalu implies that some small amount of stress might be normal or acceptable, but the goal is to avoid an excessive level.

Why is stres spelled with one s at the end, not like English stress?

Stres is a loanword from English stress, adapted to Indonesian spelling rules. Indonesian generally avoids double consonants and unnecessary final letters, so stress becomes stres.

In Indonesian, stres can be both a noun and an adjective:

Dia mengalami stres. → He/She is experiencing stress.
Dia sedang stres. → He/She is stressed.

Writing stress with two s at the end is considered incorrect in standard Indonesian.

How can I tell what tense menarik is? Could it mean took a breath or is taking a breath?

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense. Menarik in menarik napas can be understood as “takes / is taking / took / will take” depending on context.

To make the time clearer, Indonesians add time markers:

tadi dia menarik napas… → earlier, he/she took a breath…
sekarang dia sedang menarik napas… → right now, he/she is taking a breath…
nanti dia akan menarik napas… → later, he/she will take a breath…

So the base form menarik itself is tenseless; context provides the time.

Is this word order fixed, or can I move the supaya-clause to the front?

You can move the supaya-clause to the front. Both are correct:

Dia menarik napas pelan-pelan supaya tidak terlalu stres.
Supaya tidak terlalu stres, dia menarik napas pelan-pelan.

The second version puts extra emphasis on the purpose (so that he/she won’t be too stressed). In writing, when the supaya-clause comes first, you normally add a comma after it.